Choosing the Next Book

I try to alternate fiction and non-fiction, and 'heavy' and 'light', somewhat dependent on what I have purchased recently. So a heavy novel would be followed by light US history or the like.

I have become very diligent about reading all new Folios, but am still terrible about reading my Library of America volumes.

My most recently read books:

Currently enjoying The New and Improved Romie Futch - light
Tactitus Annals - heavy
Conrad Tales of Unrest - middle ground
Trout Fishing in America - light
Bull City Summer - light
Our Endless Numbered Days - light
Gould's Book of Fish - heavy

hmm, more fiction in there than not.

I don't seem to have a coherent method of choosing my next read. I had a few dozen unread books when I ordered the entire Aubrey/Maturin series and upon arrival I dived right into them, then another, and another.

Sometimes upcoming events do play a role in how I decide. Couple months ago I had an upcoming business trip, and this was when I was well and true committed to the O'Brian series. I had 3 or so days left to start and finish one of his books before leaving and then taking up to a week to return which I thought would have disrupted the flow, and I didn't want to take the book out of the house. So I decided to choose something on my Kindle as that was something I could take with me, and I only have a handful of ebooks so choosing was somewhat easier from my meagre collection, just came down to which ever synopsis tickled my fancy.

Recently I have have arranged all my fiction in approximate publication date. Once I finish the O'Brien books I may start at the beginning of my new arrangement. As for my non-fiction which are mostly historical, I may leave those to the very last as my time in uni (history no less) has engrained a view that all history books are purely for reference rather than something that is read from start to finish in its own right, even the thought of it sounds alien to me, and I never shook that view off.

Depends on my mood.
I go to my TBR shelf (about 25-30 volumes usually) in the family room, and pick out what I fancy at that time.
Some books are read immediately upon purchase, others may languish for a year or two, but all are read before they leave that shelf to enter my library.
I usually read five or six books simultaneously, and switch between them depending on my mood and location eg. short stories beside bed (Rumpole at present), more serious books read during the morning (Seven Pillars of Wisdom), lighter ones in the afternoon (Cranford and Hyperion at present), and art books (One Day Old in Hackney) or atlases (Homen's Universal Atlas) to browse in the evening while my wife watches TV.
In between reading I actually try to do some work in order to pay for more books!

I read in order of necessity based on the classes i happen to be taking.

Like Warwick, for me it's entirely mood-driven. It's another reason why it's a good idea to have an enormous TBR pile/mountain/sierra, so as to be sure there'll be one volume perfectly suited to whatever whim one is in!

Like many other readers here, I have several books that I read at any time, including e-books and comics. Some readings are prompted by circumstances, such as comments posted in this forum.

There isn't a standard circumstance that starts me reading a certain book. Some I begin immediately on their arrival, some catch my eye as I'm walking past and suggest themselves whether or not I read them ten or thirty years ago, some are suggested by whatever I'm currently reading or have just finished reading, and I could certainly go on. Again I'm always reading five or six books at any given time, though that number with me would be capable of considerable expansion. The five or six are prominent and to hand, but I don't have any policy of obliging myself to complete a book, so some find their way sooner or later back to the obscurity of the shelves (the fortunate ones: for others it may be near the bottom of a pile) a third or three-quarters read. Then, there are indeterminate suspensions I know will end, such as with the Aubrey-Maturin novels where I'm currently in a pause of some months' duration about half way through the tenth of the twenty.

My location for reading hardly varies, it's my familiar and somewhat dilapidated armchair unless the book's too big to be handled in it. Bed is for when I'm too tired to stay awake any longer, or earlier if I've to be up by a certain hour the next day for some specific purpose: either way, immediate sleep is the goal and usual consequence of going there. The books in progress are always fairly diverse, currently a couple of A. C. Benson essay collections, David Esterly's The Lost Carving, From Dawn to Decadence, Trollope's Framley Parsonage and the recent n+1 publication City by City. If none of those appeals to the moment there's always a volume of Landor within reach.

As with others, I am most influenced by mood and now seem to always have several books on the go, whereas I used to read one at a time.
I vary between fiction genres (more) and history/travel/essays (less). From time to time I will read a series of novels and whereas I would once read a series of novels one after another (I can see that I read 12 Margery Allingham in a row in 1991), I now tend to read one or two different authors in between each work in a series (13 Wodehouse books from 2011 through to 2013 and seven Arnaldur Indridason novels read in 2014). I think I do this to clear the literary "palate" and so that I can recall individual works more clearly.
I will often buy a book based upon what I am currently reading (one good book leads to another), but will generally not then read it next (and so the TBR pile grows). I admire Dr Carter's discipline.

Lots of things influence my reading. As a teacher, I'm often enough re-reading whatever my classes are reading. I also have a to-read shelf that I'm trying to whittle down to acceptable levels. Beyond that, it's whatever strikes my fancy. Often, my wife and I will go into a book store and walk around sampling things until we each find something we feel compelled to buy (while also usually coming up with a list of titles to request from the library). Speaking of libraries, they factor in, too, as I sometimes have to read something once it's sent to me or else risk waiting 6 months until I get back to the top of the queue.

Funny, it always seems simple, but when I type it out, it gets complicated awfully fast.

Very interesting topic!

I tend to have two main TBR lists: academic and non-academic.

The academic TBR list is easy enough - gotta read it so I keep getting paid and all of that; it's the non-academic one that's complicated! Within the non-academic TBR list I have:
- a FS list
- a LEC list
- a Castle Hill Press list
- other fine press books (Foolscap, Grabhorn, Incline, &c) list

And I also have a Kindle e-list.

My academic list tends to be read primarily at work, but I also dedicate time at home for this as well. When I'm at home, I try to read a physical book from my non-academic list; the Kindle is primarily for my daily commute and when I want to sample a book to see if I'd like to buy an edition (either physical or Kindle).

My tastes run very heavily towards history (surprise ;) ) and the like, so here's a snapshot of my recent reading:

Kindle--
1. Just finished Wind, Sand, and Stars by Saint-Exupery; liked it so much that I caved and bought the FS edition!
2. Currently reading The Sack of Rome, a contemporary account of the Sack of Rome in 1527
3. Will likely read Tacitus' Annales next
4. If I'm still in a 'Roman mood,' will follow that up with Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, or The History of Rome to use the English version of the title

Non-Academic--
1. Finished Selected Short Stories of Anton Chekhov and currently re-reading The Little Prince
2. About to start Seven Pillars of Wisdom from Castle Hill Press
3. Will likely follow that up with my other Castle Hill Press titles: 'The Mint' and Later Writings about Service Life and Translating the Bruce Rogers 'Odyssey'
4. After my CHP sojourn, I'll probably move into the Russian authors again courtesy of my LEC editions

I will spare everyone my academic TBR list, which is quite heavy on the niceties of medieval English canon and civil law in the Year Books and the Curia Regis Rolls, as well as medieval economic theory at present! ;)

Basically I tend to read whatever I feel like at present; whether the book's been on my TBR list for a week or ten years doesn't make much difference! I am likely going to be adjusting my reading this summer in advance of my trip abroad though, so I wouldn't be surprised if books like Jan Morris' Venice move to the top of these lists at some point.

Edited for an error on my part.

Well, I only read one book at a time and my next book is influenced by my mood and oddly enough, the season.

My old girlfriend from 30 + years ago, who lives on the other side of the world, sends me an email every 3 months or so. She usually comments on some books she has read, so I usually choose one or two from her list as the next to read. Over the last year or so I've read An unquiet mind, Stoner, An Officer and a Spy and So long, see you tomorrow. Nice to have a few strands that connect us, and that we both have tolerant spouses!

>13 SimB: Stoner and So long, see you tomorrow are both among my favorites. Great books. I haven't read the other two.

>13 SimB:
>14 Jason461:
John Edward Williams looks fascinating. Somewhat chagrined I haven't heard of him. Added to the list...

Like many others here, my next book tends to be mood driven, although there are a couple of lists of books that I'm working through, which I gravitate towards, and I usually have a number of books on a (mental) short term 'to read' list. I will quite often read a book to fit in with an occasion: e.g. I recently read Birdsong as I was going to see the play, Bleak House was completed prior to the BBC serial a few years ago, and I've had a bit of a splurge on Waterloo related history lately. I also belong to a book group, so have that choice to read each month at some stage (I usually leave it to a few days beforehand, so that it's fresh in my mind). As cronshaw says, that's the advantage of a large tbr library - there's a good chance the mood can be matched! So, all a bit random really.

I used to have several books on the go at any one time, but now I prefer to read them serially, although I will sometimes have a non-fiction book running parallel to a fiction volume. I certainly can't handle two fiction books in parallel any more!

I generally have a rational plan in mind as to my future reading, but this is often overridden by the mood I'm in when I'm ready for a new book. Although, like Willoyd, I would rationally prefer to read one book at a time, in practice, my serendipitous nature dictates otherwise and I often have four, five, or even six on the go at once. This, however, means that unless I read them in strict rotation I run the risk of losing the thread in more complex books if I'm not very careful. I then vow to read one at a time in future, but it never works!

(Edited to exclude tbr comment which has now been assigned to the correct thread.)

Following the purchase of Darwin and the Beagle by Alan Moorehead yesterday (second-hand large illustrated Penguin paperback), I thought back to this post and thought I would describe the decision process which was something like this, to which other may relate:
1. A book by Alan Moorehead – I really enjoyed his prose style in the Slightly Foxed edition of his autobiography A Late Education.
2. That made me buy the Folio edition of his The Nile: The Blue Nile & The White Nile, which is also beautifully and copiously illustrated.
3. I now actually picked up the book and look at it! Yes, it is a second hand paperback, but lovely illustrations and I am interested in Darwin (I had read Charles Darwin: A Biography back in 1992, but had not been much impressed so had given it away).
4. I am sure Alan Moorehead will make a far more interesting read.
5. Home later, after reading the first three chapters – this is really interesting, I must read more – wait, Folio did some Darwin.
6. Have now ordered a second hand copy of The Voyage of Beagle from eBay – which also adds to my Victorian Exploration and Travel series – see https://www.librarything.com/topic/154143#4094486
7. And you can see where that thought is heading!

Ideally - i see myself reading for example: 1 fiction, and a non fiction as a follow up, and so it goes - i also subscribe on a history magazine, which is great once a month (often with references to litterature published by folio - so a great supplement)

First up now is (as mentioned): Herodotus - Histories
Followed by (not mentioned): Travels with Herodotus

Will also look into the Landmark series of these volumes, so much mentioned before

So Thucydides - (Xenophon, Arrian - in that order) and the "Princeton" volume of Rise & fall of classical Greece - then maybe Greek Science - if i feel like it

After that again: Year around things to do i believe .. or little woman, Anne of green gables or something :)

My goal is to READ AROUND these volumes as mentioned https://www.librarything.com/pic/4720969

I won`t follow this 100%, but i will try .. depends on the mood here also i guess

Roger Knight's biography of Nelson "The Pursuit of Victory" is so outrageously good - new insights on every page and SO beautifully written - that I will be now following it - not that I want to finish it! - with his later "Britain Against Napoleon".

P.S. An afterthought: I wonder if he and the superb
Ian "Zulu Rising" Knight are siblings?! It would be quite the Naval & Military club if they were!

I haven't used these extensively, but I have recently discovered that my public library subscribes to a database called "NoveList Plus" which allows you to search for books based on certain topics/characteristics and find related books. Some characteristics include: genre, character, storyline, tone, writing style, subject, location, etc. Another "service" my library subscribes to is "NextReads" where you can get newsletters via email on books based on genre such as mystery, historical fiction, New York Times bestsellers, armchair travel, etc.